The study of Victorian provincial Jewish communities raises
many interesting and intriguing questions. Besides the general obvious ones of
why and how did Jews form a particular community, and by what means did they
earn a living, other more particular questions surface. For instance, were those
Jews who established these communities different in character from their
co-religionists who remained in large communities whatever their circumstances?
In a small community, unlike a large one, it was impossible for Jews to remain
totally immersed in a familiar environment. Did this mean that the process of
acculturisation would proceed quicker in small communities, or did this mean
that the more they were exposed to their new surroundings, the more intent they
were on keeping their own? Obviously the task of maintaining Judaism was far
more arduous in a small community totally engulfed by non-Jewish society.
Further, despite the obvious similarities in Jewish communities, how far could
the type of town in which they settled fashion their consciousness? To put this
point graphically, the Jews in Blackburn were familiar with the sound of that
ubiquitous symbol of the textile industry, the knocker up, the sound of clogs on
cobbles, the sight and smell (although presumably not the taste) of traditional
Lancashire delicacies, tripe and black puddings, and after a while, they would
adopt local accents.1 These experiences, exclusive to the Lancashire
textile region, would not be shared by Jews elsewhere, who themselves would be
exposed to differing life-styles. This suggests that despite the well detailed
homogeneity of Jewish communities they may have differed in certain respects,
such as class composition and occupational structure.

The type of town in which a Jewish community found itself may
well point to the nature and character of that community. Blackburn remains the
largest town of north-east Lancashire, and typifies the industrial town which
grew in this region as a result of the industrial revolution. From being a small
market town in the early nineteenth century, it had grown in the course of a
hundred years and by 1909 had a population of over 139,000 people. Its municipal
buildings and statues reflect its Victorian prosperity, a factor with an
undoubted appeal to the immigrant searching for a living. In addition its
importance as a regional centre within easy reach by rail of Manchester would
also attract the immigrant. Besides its own large market there were within a ten
mile radius two large towns - Preston and Burnley - and several smaller mill
towns, each possessing a busy market. Therefore, as a centre of a network of
markets, it had appeal for the Jewish "market stander". Further its
size and position meant it possessed a large shopping centre and it had become a
town with a burgeoning tailoring trade, satisfying the local middle-class
demand. Not unnaturally, opportunities were available for the Jewish tailor to
exercise his craft. These three factors, a prosperous regional centre, a large
market centre in easy reach of smaller markets and a town with ample
opportunities for tailors combined to make Blackburn prima-facie an
attractive proposition for Jews engaged in tertiary and service industries.

Although isolated Jews might have lived in Blackburn prior to
1880 it is only from that date that one can talk in terms of a community.2 From
the local directories, which are incomplete and unreliable, it would appear that
a handful of Jewish families settled in Blackburn in the early 1880's. However,
the Jewish population grew, so that an appeal for funds to establish a synagogue
in Blackburn appears in the Jewish Chronicle in spring 1893.3
This appeal came from Mr. W. Aronsberg, J.P., of Manchester, and included
signatures of seventeen Jews living in the Blackburn area. It stated that over
twenty families lived in Blackburn and several more in its immediate
neighbourhood. These families were "eager to be provided with a place of
worship, religious instruction for their children and kosher food".4

From the limited evidence available, and from information
given in interviews, the community comprised of families who had previously
settled elsewhere either in the provinces or in London. This mobility suggests
that these families possessed initiative, resourcefulness, and a strong will to
establish their independence. The attractions of Blackburn have been summarised
above and it seems that information concerning prospects in a town could travel
through a trade or family network. An individual account of the constant
movement in search for a living and one which illustrates recruitment to the
Blackburn community is contained in City Close Up.5 In
the interview with 'Grandma Kramer' the early days of the immigrant prepared to
leave London and find his way in the provinces are vividly recollected.6 After
struggling desperately, the family moves to Manchester, then Darwen when offered
work there by a friend. Similar patterns of movement seem to have been
experienced by other families in the community and appear to have been typical.7
As the community grew it was augmented by relatives joining their families
sometimes directly from overseas but mainly from other English communities.
There is also evidence that policies of dispersion from overcrowded communities
were being considered as early as 1886 by the Manchester Board of Guardians.8
The idea was "to select a limited number of families from among Jewish
artisans who may be dispersed to migrate to some other towns".9 However,
this scheme does not appear to have become operative as no mention of it is made
after January 1888. Nevertheless many families who settled in Blackburn did
appear to move from the Manchester district. From this evidence, employment
opportunities appear to have been the major attraction of Blackburn for the
Jewish settlers. Once settled, family links augmented the size of the community.
There is no available evidence to support or contradict the view that old
friends and neighbours from abroad linked up with families in Blackburn. However
the size of the community suggests this would be unlikely although not
impossible.

Occupational Structure of the Community and the Area of Settlement

Between 1881 and 1908 the Jewish community in Blackburn had
grown from a handful of families to a community of over 250 souls.10 An
analysis of the occupations followed by the community and the area in which it
settled will indicate its social aid economic position. Obviously the period
under review is one in which the hardworking immigrant is prepared to sweat in
return for the opportunity of one day becoming independent or self-employed. In
Blackburn the Jews were engaged in the classic trades of the immigrant. From
information in the directories, tailoring appears to predominate. In 1900 three
Jewish tailors are listed but significantly by 1906 this number is increased to
fifteen. These tailors would mainly work for the well-established and large
merchant tailors, have private customers or would manage a combination of both.
They would work in small workshops employing co-religionists as machiners and
pressers, etc.11 Many of these tailors were involved in communal
affairs. If tailoring was the major occupation, market traders and general
dealers who owned shops and stood on the markets came a very close second. With
various markets within easy reach, several families made their living by market
trading. They sold optical goods, cheap jewellery, fancy goods, boots and shoes,
lacework, textile piece goods, leathers and sponge, in fact the whole range of
goods which were the mark of the Jewish trader. In addition there was a small
number of cabinet makers, glaziers and picture framers. Two of the foremost
Jewish families in Blackburn, Aaron and Rozenson, wore engaged in
picture-framing.12 There were also a number of drapers, clothes
dealers, boot and shoe dealers and a Jewish grocery. However, the community
could not support a kosher butcher's shop. Instead kosher meat was sold on
Tuesdays and Thursdays in a non-Jewish butcher's shop situated in the main
neighbourhood of Jewish settlement.13 The inability to support a
kosher butcher illustrates precisely the point made about the impossibility of
Jews in a small community being totally immersed in their own environment and
culture.

In addition to the occupations mentioned the local
directories show that a small number of Jews were engaged in loan financing
(money lending) or managed loan offices. Although few in number this group of
people supplied at least three prominent members of the community. Along with
the more successful master tailors, picture framers, shopkeepers and market
traders, they formed the active kernel of the community. The relative wealth of
the loan financiers is best illustrated by the election of Mr. Jacob Cohen,
proprietor of the South. African Loan Company, to president of the congregation
in 1902.14 As he had witnessed the siege of Kimberley, he was
clearly a newcomer to the community and had returned to England "to recruit
his health".15 His swift election to president indicated he was
a man of some financial substance. This is illustrated when he advanced
interest-free the whole sum of money required to construct a mikvah at
the Turkish baths in Richmond Terrace, in 1904.16

The occupational structure of the Blackburn community must
resemble those found in the "manufacturing districts". It contained no
factory proletariat, no member of the professions and certainly no families of
long-established wealth. However it did contain the seeds of entrepreneurial
desire. Like similar communities, its growing generation would boast of a
sprinkling of successful businessmen and members of the liberal professions.
However the Victorian community was one in which the struggle to exist precluded
the fulfilment of other aspirations. Although certain families succeeded
economically and socially in Blackburn, it was never a wealthy community. Indeed
there appears to be a constant turnover of families. Names appear and disappear
from consecutive directories and new names appear and then disappear from
committees.17 Various reasons can be given for this turnover,
but the failure to make a living seems often an indisputable one. Within the
community status became inextricably linked with economic prosperity. The more
prosperous families provided the communal leaders and a demarcation in status
persisted between these and those destined to remain wage-earning or struggling
in business.

Another indication of the social and economic standing of the
community can be obtained by reference to the area of settlement. The bulk of
the community lived close to the town centre on its western side in an area
bounded by King Street and Bank Top in the south, Preston New Road to the north,
Northgate to the east, and Saunders Road to the west. This area was basically
working class although the elevated north section bordering Preston New Road was
superior to the southern section around Bank Top. This whole area was divided by
Montague Street in which, going from the directories and marriage certificates,
various families lived. The Paradise Lane synagogue was located in the
south-east corner of the area, the butcher's shop on its southern boundary and
the Jewish grocer's shop was also located in the area. However, smaller knots of
settlement appear in the St. John's area to the north east of the town centre
and also in Lower Audley and Grimshaw Park to the south west. These latter two
areas were solidly working class and rather poor. The dividing line between
working class and middle class was Preston New Road. To the north of this road
the wealthier inhabitants of Blackburn resided. In this period very few Jewish
families lived to the north of Preston New Road. Those that did pointed the
prospective way from ghetto to suburb.18

The Blackburn Jewish community lived mainly in a
neighbourhood of which the major part was working class, but which could also in
part he described as lower middle class. Other smaller knots of residence also
show that the community lived in solid working class areas. This denotes that
the Blackburn community was one in which the struggle for living was never far
from the surface.

Religion and the Role of the Minister

It is axiomatic that the place of religion in a community is
of utmost importance. Whatever their cultural and social practices, the most
immediate distinction between Jews and non-Jews is religion. Indeed when posed
with the question when is a Jewish community founded, the most frequent response
will be when the synagogue has been consecrated. By 1893 the Jews in Blackburn
felt the need to have a synagogue. The appeal published in the Jewish
Chronicle is informative, in that it makes plain the struggle faced by a
small community wishing to upkeep its religion: "We are twenty five miles
from Manchester which is the nearest town where we can find a synagogue. Our
hardships and difficulties in our endeavours to cling to our religion when we
have no place of worship, no sepharim and no kosher meat are
indescribable."19 This cri de coeur places
religious observance at the very centre of communal activity and shows why small
communities found it hard to expand. With the support of the Chief Rabbi
donations amounting to over £76 were collected within a month.20
At this point of time religious services were being held in a private house
owned by a Mr. Jacob Barnett and were being conducted by members of the
community.21 In May 1893, after a visit by Mr. W. Aronsberg J.P., the
community decided to purchase and refit an old Art College in Paradise Lane and
convert it into a synagogue. At a meeting held in the Blackburn Royal Exchange
Aronsberg for his services was elected honorary life President, Mr. Aaron Pinkus
became vice-president and Mr. C. Rozenson Warden. Eventually the synagogue was
consecrated in September 1893, although originally it was scheduled to be opened
in July.22

The consecration of the synagogue was the first major event
in the religious life of the community. Most of the necessary and costly
requisites were donated by members or by visitors.23 The
inauguration ceremony attracted visitors from several communities including
Manchester, Southport, Burton-on-Trent and London. Indeed Mr. S. M. Harris of
Southport, who subsequently featured prominently in the affairs of the
community, managed the ceremony, admittance to which was by ticket only. A clue
to the way the community had maintained its religious practice prior to the
opening of the synagogue is contained in a speech given by W. Aronsberg, when he
commented that "that synagogue was intended to be a boon not only to
Blackburn Jews, but to others who had hitherto been put to great inconvenience
by having to journey to Manchester with their families several times a
year." 24

With the establishment of a synagogue and the appointment of
a minister, Rev. I. Gallant, the Blackburn Jewish community was placed firmly on
the map. Yet within a year the synagogue trustees were being threatened with
legal action over their inability to pay off outstanding debts. This situation
confirms the somewhat precarious financial standing of the community at this
point of time. Fortunately Mr. S. M. Harris intervened by bringing the plight of
the community to the attention of the Chief Rabbi. In turn he elicited support
from influential members of the London community who were able to place the
congregation in a sound financial position.25 This action
averted the collapse of the congregation and community, which by now consisted
of over fifty working class families.26 It also gave the Chief
Rabbi an opportunity to remind the congregation "of the importance of
imparting religious education to the children".27 Equally
importantly, the Chief Rabbi promised to visit Blackburn in his pastoral tour in
1896, an event designed to boost the community morally, spiritually and
psychologically. Naturally the Chief Rabbi's visit in May 1896 marked another
momentous occasion for the community.

One reason for his visit was to appeal for donations to the
Blackburn and East Lancs Infirmary. When this appeal was made at the evening
service, various representatives of the gentile community, both lay and cleric,
including the Mayor and the chairman of the hospital were present. Whilst the
Chief Rabbi urged the community "not to confine their charities to their
own people and institutions", he also emphatically stressed that they
should "train up their children in the knowledge of Hebrew which was their
bond as a people and a key to their ancient faith and sacred writings' 28

Within the next three years certain events point to the
consolidation of the community. A mikvah for instance was inaugurated in
late 1896 although this appeared not to have been maintained, for as previously
stated another mikvah was opened in 1904.29 In 1898 the
synagogue was closed temporarily whilst it underwent a general beautifying and
was reopened in the presence "both of Jews from the surrounding towns and
Christian residents including town councillors".30 The
desire for- a mikvah and the redecoration of the synagogue strongly suggests
that there was little attenuation at this time of orthodoxy, although in his
visit the Chief Rabbi had referred to the institution of Sabbath which he felt
was "not always prized and honoured as it should be". 31

Another necessity for any Jewish community is a burial plot.
The request for such a plot indicates not only the religious nature of a
community but also hints at its growth in size and the notion of permanency. In
early 1896 a plot was applied for but refused because "the cemetery is
rapidly becoming filled and that all the ground will soon be required ....
therefore we recommend that it is not advisable to set apart any position of the
cemetery for internment in connection with any particular body or sect."32
This decision was a setback and prompted criticism. In the wake of the Chief
Rabbi's visit the Blackburn Weekly Standard and Express sympathetically
regretted that "the Corporation has not seen its way to grant the Jews a
plot for burial purposes" and additionally claimed "there is a
sentiment in these matters which it seems almost brutal to consciously
outrage".33 Nevertheless the Corporation did promise to
reconsider the matter when the burial grounds were extended and, true to their
promise, in November 1898 a plot was duly apportioned. A vital role in securing
this plot was played by Aaron Pinkus who, with a small committee had been
responsible for negotiations with the Corporation.34 Plans were
made for the erection of a mortuary and fencing but the funds were never raised.
Instead the cemetery was (and is) surrounded by shrubs and at its entrance were
erected pillars and an iron gate.35

If the first visit of the Chief Rabbi was an unqualified
success and one that made Blackburn aware of its Jewish community, his second
visit, unscheduled and unheralded, arose from completely different
circumstances. This was the result of an incident which highlighted the
turbulent character of a Jewish working community, as yet unsophisticated. From
interviews conducted, one impression remains quite clear. In a community such as
Blackburn where the immigrant was striving to raise himself and family, the
desire to see success reflected in positions within the community gave it a
quarrelsome nature. What started at the 1899 annual general meeting as an
argument between a retiring member of the executive and other congregation
members ended in a fracas principally involving two families. Consequently the
meeting "broke up in an uproar owing to the pugilistic tendencies of one or
more of the congregation'.36 This situation was hardly that of
the unity called for when the synagogue was consecrated, and in all twelve
summonses for assault were issued. Naturally this type of incident was one which
ran counter to the pressing desire of the immigrant to attain respectability.
Indeed letters were sent to the press denying the whole affair.37 However,
embarrassment was spared when a prominent member of the community interceded,
the summonses were withdrawn and the issue was "amicably settled" 38
It was these circumstances therefore that prompted the unscheduled visit of the
Chief Rabbi, who no doubt would have been unhappy with the affair.

Despite the amicable settlement, the upshot of this incident
was the formation of a new congregation, namely the New Hebrew Congregation.39
The presence of long-standing quarrels, arguments and bickerings
within the community was hinted at in the inaugural speech given by the
president of the new congregation, Mr. Lewis Gordon. With prescience, he
deplored the break, but nonetheless felt "glad to say that the unfortunate
quarrel at the synagogue and separation had served to put an end to petty
quarrels and bickering.40 This breakaway congregation formed
its own Burial Board, which was associated with the Manchester New Synagogue
Burial Board, and a Zionist Society. However, within a smallish community its
existence could not have been anything but fragile and it dissolved in July
1900.41 For a brief spell after reunification, the officers and
executive of the synagogue were changed quarterly, a procedure showing a
conciliatory grace and signally allowing a liberal and satisfactory spread of
office.42 However, four years after the reunification of the
congregation, yet another split occurred.43 Whereas the reasons
for the first breakaway are well catalogued, those for the second breakaway
remain at present conjectural rather than concrete, through lack of evidence.
The growth of the community after 1900 may have been a factor in the formation
of this second congregation, the Freckleton Street Congregation, and as early as
1901 claims were being made that the Paradise Lane synagogue was beginning to be
too small for the increasing population.44 Curiously, those
families who broke away in 1899 now seemed to remain faithful, and those who
remained faithful in 1899 now seemed to form a part of the breakaway. This could
suggest that there were still two factions within the community and that certain
families were at loggerheads. A possible clue to the origins of the second
secession might be found in the resignation of Mr. B. Fraser in July 1904, from
treasurer of the old congregation.45 In 1899 this family had
remained in the original congregation, but it now became active in the now one.
In addition, three members of the new congregation's committee were formerly
committee members at Paradise Lane.46 The Freckleton St..
Congregation lasted three years and originally had its own minister, Rev. A.
Light.47 Like the New Hebrew Congregation, on its dissolution
its members rejoined the original congregation. Appropriately, at a special
service to celebrate the return, the minister Rev. E. Matthews preached a sermon
entitled "Forgiveness and Peace".48 By splitting the
communal leadership, the original congregation appears to have weakened, as in
1906 it is run by a committee, because the members were reluctant to take
office.49 As some consolation, its balance sheet showed an
improvement.

From the events discussed, the Blackburn Jewish Community
seemed prone to fragmentation and internal division the consequences of which
were the two secessions. The relatively short existence of the breakaways seems
to confirm that the community was never large or wealthy enough to support two
congregations. Further, the quarrelling and the heated form it took reflected
the comparatively hard life still being experienced as well as the rawness of
the community. Yet, in another light, the constant argument characterised the
vigour, energy and assertiveness from which the immigrants derived the impetus
to succeed however challenging the circumstances.

The Minister in the Small Community

In such a community the role of the minister was crucial. His
duties were all-embracing, demanding not only religious devotions, but
leadership and spokesmanship. A community like Blackburn, therefore, could prove
a harsh and unremitting apprenticeship for a minister. However, if he could cope
and indeed inspire, a small community could act as a stepping stone to more
prestigious congregations. Life for a minister in a small community demanded
dedication akin to missionary zeal, as it could not provide the richness of
culture and learning generally found in large communities. Further, the salary.
offered would be related directly to the affluence of his congregation, which in
the case of Blackburn was modest. Given these qualifications and constraints, it
is not surprising to find that between 1893 and 1898 no less than four ministers
- Revs. I. Gallant, L. Muscat, H. Cohen and A. Chassen were appointed and left.
This rapid turnover ceased however, with the appointment in May 1898 of Rev. A.
Newman of Leeds, who remained at Paradise Lane synagogue until the end of 1904,
when he departed for Leicester.50 Although he witnessed the two
seceding congregations, his admirable leadership and qualities did much to
stabilise growing community. Indeed, he was unanimously elected minister and
shochet after officiating once, this a positive indication of his merit in a
community of divided opinions.51 His reputation must have
grown, for in 1903 he was offered the post of minister to the Plymouth
congregation.52 But such was the admiration of his own
congregation that it was decided to augment his salary by £20 per annum, and he
remained, albeit temporarily, in Blackburn.53 One of his
undoubted attractions were his aptly chosen sermons. In 1902 at a service for
the restoration of King Edward's health, he exhorted the children of the
community "to try and grow up useful citizens", whilst a year later he
can be found advising his congregants to be careful in their conduct "for
being the cynosure of the world their actions were closely watched and
criticized".54 Not only were his sermons inspirational,
but also his cheder teaching was admired.55

However religiously inspiring he was, his own moral courage
as a spokesman for the community was equally notable. On two occasions this
courage manifested itself when he responded to press articles which were
particularly offensive to the Jewish community. The first of these articles
entitled 'Butcher and Priest' was supposed to be an eye-witness account of Rev.
A. Newman performing shechita.56 As the title suggests,
this article was full of misconceptions, misunderstandings and seems to have
been written to confirm preconceived ideas. In reply Newman pointed to these
errors of judgement and defended shechita, citing medical evidence in his
riposte.57 The second occasion was in response to an archetypical
piece of anti-Jewish immigrant propaganda, entitled 'Jewish Undesirables:- Alien
Immigration and the Provinces'.58 Abounding in slurs, smears,
half-truths and ridicule, its classic attack provoked an equally classic
defence: "The tone of these contributions is such as to impress one with
the false idea that the Jews as a body are stigmatised as a criminal, filthy,
immoral and undesirable class of miserable pariahs .... descending on these
shores like locusts."59 This, he claimed was a complete
distortion and in fact pointed out that the Jews were both law-abiding and
sober.60 These two instances of moral courage, his admirable
teaching and preaching abilities and his general leadership must have been a
boon to the community. Finally, when he departed to Leicester, he eloquently
touched upon the relationship that had grown between the congregation and
himself which "was one of mutual respect and confidence".61 He
was of course grieved to see "that some members had seceded from the
congregation" and added "It would be the amplest reward of his labours
to hear that peace and harmony were restored in their midst".62 This
minister measured up to the demands of office in a small community, as leader,
teacher, preacher and spokesman. Although he could not keep a discordant
community unified his presence in Blackburn must have added to its distinction.
His successor, the Rev. E. Matthews, also remained five years.

Charities and Societies within the Community

The religious ethos of a Jewish community makes it incumbent
for its members to indulge in works of charity. The formation of societies
specifically for these duties points to the community's religious orthodoxy and
its social and economic standing. A Chevra Kadisha appears to be one of
the earlier institutions formed and a society for the Study of Rabbinical
Literature was established in 1901 by leading communal figures.63 Whilst
religious orthodox initiated these early societies, there is also evidence of
secular activity. A Jewish Friendly and Benefit Society whose committees and
executive were drawn from the loading members of the community was thriving by
1903, displaying how the Victorian ideal of self-help appealed to those to whom
thrift and perseverance was common.64 However, not all the community
could afford to save. in 1905 a Benevolent Society was formed "in
consequence of the numerous calls made on individual members of the
congregation".65 This indicates that part of the community
was prospering whilst part still could fall on hard times. Towards the end of
the period under review, the prosperity and social standing of part of the
community was reflected by the formation of a branch of the Grand Order of
Israel, the Sir Moses Montefiore Lodge, (38).66 The presence of
such a Lodge in Blackburn denotes measure of prosperity amongst its Jewish
community. The formation of the Lodge provided much interest in Blackburn and
was an occasion in which all the families of the community were represented.
Again this event attracted visitors from other towns - Hanley, London, Hull and
Manchester. The lodge started life with a membership of between 45 and 50, its
membership drawn from the communally active. A Literary Society was quickly
formed within the Lodge and the first lecture given by H. Glotzer was the firm
and tried favourite 'Israel among the Nations'.67 Undoubtedly by 1907
the community was approaching its peak, yet there are indications that there had
been discontinuity in the maintenance of some societies, for in 1907 the Rev,
Eli Matthews was pointing out to his congregation the necessity of founding a Chevra
Kadisha and a Bikkur Cholim.68

In addition to the above religious and charitable societies,
there was no neglect of the social side of life. In 1902 a Jewish Working Lien's
Club was opened in response to an increase in population.69 This
club provided for the leisure activities of the community. Concerts were given
and cards and billiards were played. However, the club, despite its title, was
opened to non-Jews and the most important annual social event, the dance, was
always attended by non-Jewish friends of the members.70 As in most
Jewish communities, there was no lack of musical and comic talent, to which the
concerts held in the club bear testimony.71

The Impact of Zionism

In a community prone to dispute amongst its active members
political Zionism seems to have attracted support, although whether this was
completely shared throughout its various levels is conjectural. Evidence of
Zionist activity appears in Blackburn towards the end of 1898 when, in a meeting
held at Paradise Lane synagogue, support for the movement was expressed.72
This support must, have been fairly strong, for immediately after the first
breakaway, the New Hebrew Congregation formed a Zionist Society.73 Indeed,
despite the breakaway, Zionism appears as a cohesive force, for the two
congregations consulted over forming a Zionist society and by November members
of both congregations were present at the New Hebrew Congregation to hear Mr. J.
Halpern of Manchester.74 The Blackburn delegate to the 1899 Zionist
Conference was no less a luminary than Herbert Bentwich.75 From
the evidence after 1900 there appears to have been other Zionist societies
formed. For instance, prior to the second break in 1904, a Zionist Society
pledging loyalty to the English Zionist Federation was founded at a meeting in
the Working Men's Club. A year later, after the split, members of the Paradise
Lane congregation were resolving to start yet another Zionist society.76 Whether
these societies were formed because of intra-communal splits or differences
amongst its supporters remains unclear at present. In addition to this interest
in political Zionism the Blackburn Zionist Association played host in 1901 to
Rev. L. Levin of Liverpool, who was authorised to collect for yeshivot in
Jerusalem, thereby reminding the community of the religious aspect of Zionism.77
From the evidence available, many leading members of the community supported the
Zionist cause. Many active in synagogue affairs also appear active as officers
in the Zionist Associations. There is no evidence to show that at the turn of
the century there was a comparable interest in socialism. Given the size of the
community and its occupational structure, it is hardly likely that there were
any Jewish trade unionists. However, there were families who often remained
peripheral, inclined to non-practice, secularism or socialism.78

Inter-Communal Relationships

In Blackburn there seems to have been sound relationships
between the Jews and non-Jews. There is no evidence to suggest the occurrence of
any form of organised antisemitism. Jewish children however, did not escape the
usual taunts from their peers and from evidence given in various interviews,
occasional clashes occurred in and around the playgrounds. With the strong
religious tradition in Blackburn, of free and established church, it is not
surprising to find that the Jewish children attended local church schools, St.
Peters C. of E. being a popular choice, as was Princess Street Methodist. This
latter school, in deference to its Jewish pupils, even changed its annual picnic
day from Saturday to Friday.79 The children of the more
affluent members of the community went on to Blakey Moor Secondary School. On
all the special occasions in the life of the community such as the Chief Rabbi's
scheduled visit or the reopening of the synagogue after redecoration in 1898,
non-Jewish dignitaries were present. Throughout the period the community donated
to the local Infirmary, holding special services attended by non-Jews to promote
the cause. Other causes were not overlooked. A special collection was made for
the Lord Mayor's (Boer) War Fund, whilst a letter of sympathy was sent to
Gladstone's widow and one of congratulation to the Emperor of Austria on his
Jubilee in 1898 from former inhabitants of his Empire.80 These
charitable contacts with the non-Jewish world did not pass unnoticed. A leading
figure and a founder of the community, Israel Aaron, "was owing to his kind
and liberal disposition, very popular both among Jews and Christians".81
The small children of the Aaron family were cared for on Yom Kippur by a
non-Jewish lady.82 In addition to these charitable pursuits,
the Jews in Blackburn were prepared to encourage friendship with their
non-Jewish neighbours. This is best exemplified by non-Jews using the Jewish
Working Men's Club. Obviously relationships were not encouraged to the extent
that intermarriage would result, but even this, however rare, could not be
avoided. Up to 1907 there is one recorded marriage where a partner became
converted.83

The lack of antisemitism in a place like Blackburn can be
attributed basically to the relatively small size and occupational structure of
the Jewish community. Unlike the Irish immigrants, the Jews could not threaten
the employment opportunities, wage levels, or livelihood of the local working
population. However, the community did attract the attention of the Society for
the Promotion of Christianity amongst Jews, who seemed to be active in those
churches located in the areas of Jewish settlement. 84

Concluding Observations

By 1907 there is ample evidence to suggest that the Blackburn
Jewish community was prospering, although not yet prosperous. Its possibilities
as a town for Jewish settlement had not gone unnoticed. In his evidence given to
the Royal Commission on Aliens (1903) Sir Samuel Montagu inferred that
Blackburn had been one of the provincial towns to which Jews from the metropolis
had been dispersed.85 Certainly by this time it possessed most
of the necessary communal organs both mandatory and voluntary which augured well
for its permanency.

Naturally, not all families shared the growing prosperity and
both the turnover in membership and the need for a Benevolent Society testify
that certain families struggled or fell on hard times. Those families that
prospered tended to produce the communal leaders and activists, and a clear
social demarcation developed between the relatively prosperous and the poor.86
However, the size of the community operated against a complete
divorce of these extremes.

The community was orthodox in its religious practice. It
comprised a generation whose roots were European and whose religion had yet to
be diluted by the process of acculturisation. Besides importing religious
orthodoxy, its members brought with them the predisposition to argue and
dispute, a characteristic of Jewish life now part and parcel of its
folklore. Nevertheless, within a small community, cohesive forces could
operate. Although inter-family disputes caused friction, its marriage patterns
are instructive when searching for explanations for a community's survival. In a
small community it would have needed only a few intra-communal marriages for it
to take the shape of one large family. Blackburn was too large a community for
this phenomenon to occur, but marriage within a community could be a strong
integrative force. It is possible to measure the extent of intra-communal
marriage from the local marriage certificates. From 1896 to 1908 fourteen
marriages were recorded, ten of which were between Jewish residents of
Blackburn. 87 This kind of pattern could explain the continuity of
small communities when the obvious conditions for their survival seemed to have
disappeared.

Like all Jewish working communities and despite its internal
quarrelling, the Blackburn community exuded typical Jewish warmth. Many people
were known by Yiddish first-names and many of its members had nicknames. Its
hospitality was extended to fellow Jews who passed through Blackburn, the market
traders, pedlars, families on the move, and "theatricals". A temporary
visitor from India, a Mr. Myers, came to learn about the cotton weaving trade
and stayed with the Aaron family, whilst from somewhere nearer came a certain
Mr. Ephraim Marks who sold, inter alia, carded buttons on the market.88

From the evidence adduced, the Blackburn Jewish community
emerges as a hard-working one whose members are intent on succeeding through
their own efforts. The most pertinent feature of the Blackburn community and one
which goes a long way in explaining its character is that it was comprised of
families who had tried to make a living elsewhere. This suggests that it
possessed initiative, vigour and abundant resource, features which could have
been common to many small provincial communities. Certainly there appears
evidence to suggest that those who chose to live in the smaller communities did
not lack initiative. At the inaugural conference of the Jewish Congregational
Union, the delegate from Stroud, when discussing overcrowding in London,
remarked:

Such a condition of affairs
could not possibly come into existence in the provinces because in a provincial
town if a man was unable to find work he went to the next town and if he could
not get it there, he went to the next town further on. In the East End of London
it was quite different. If the immigrant could not get work in one street, he
went to the next street and if he could not get work there he went to the Board
of Guardians or to one of the philanthropic members of the Jewish community, but
he did not stir out of Whitechapel.89

If this contemporaneous impression is correct, it will help
explain the nature and formation of small Jewish provincial communities at the
beginning of the present century. Certainly these remarks are applicable to the
way Blackburn recruited its Jewish community. Without being too close a
parallel, there seems to be a passing similarity between those Jews willing to
move around until they could find satisfactory work, and the 'Tramping Artisan'.
Instead of the latter's network of clubs, the Jewish artisans or craftsmen could
use a network of hospitable communities in which he could find work and an
opportunity to establish roots.

Although the demise of the Blackburn community falls
chronologically outside this study, the pressures operating against the
long-term survival of the smaller communities seem universal. Jews wished to
maintain their religious and hence cultural identity, preferring integration to
assimilation. Smaller communities could not provide a sustained and satisfactory
'Jewish life' religiously, socially or culturally. To avert a drift into
assimilation by intermarriage families were forced to move into the larger
communities. In the case of Blackburn this movement was compounded by the
economic collapse of the area in the inter-war years.

Footnotes
1. See Jeremy Seabrook, City Close Up, 1973 ed. (Penguin) pp.220-222.
2. I am indebted to Mr. Bill Williams for pointing out that Jews had resided in
Blackburn in the earlier part of the century.
3. Jewish Chronicle hereafter J.C. 24 March 1893.
4. Ibid.
5. Seabrook, op. cit., pp.220-221.
6. Kramer is a pseudonym. The real name was Goldberg. I am indebted to Mr. and
Mrs. B. David for this information.
7. The Aaron family came to Blackburn via Hanley and Preston, Marcus family via
Manchester and Accrington. I am indebted to Mr. L. Aaron
and Mr. D. Marcus for this information.
8. Manchester Board of Guardians Minutes 6 July 1887.
9. Ibid., 7 December 1887.
10. Jewish Year Book 1910, Blackburn Weekly Telegraph, 5 January 1907.
11. A civil court case involving a presser found at the Knowsley Hotel, Cheetham,
Manchester, who was brought to Blackburn by a
Mr. S. Levi, is reported in the Blackburn Times, 17
June 1899.
12. For those interested in Jewish entrepreneural history, the original founders
of the Great Universal Stores were from the Rozenson family.
13. This shop was Buttorfields, 111 King Street.
14. J.C., 28 February 1902.
15. Ibid.
16. J.C., 9 September 1904.
17. David Weitzmann, Q.C., M.P., was born in Blackburn, but the family stayed
only a short time, before moving to Glasgow. His father traded
as P. White. (I am indebted to Mr. D. Weitzmann Q.C. for this
information.)
18. From 1880 a few people lived on the north side of Preston New Road. These
included Simon Goldstone, owner of a tailor's shop
in the early 1880's, Jacob Cohen, loan financier and Samuel
Saks, chamois leather merchant.
19. J.C., 24 March 1893.
20. J.C., 21 April 1893. N.M. Rothschild & Co. donated £25.
21. J.C., 26 May 1893.
22. J.C., 7 July 1893.
23. Blackburn Times, 9 September 1893.
24. Ibid. 25. J.C., 2 November 1894.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. 9 May 1896.
29. J.C., 2 October 1896.
30. J.C., 5 August 1898.
31. Blackburn Weekly Standard and Express, 9 May 1896.
32. Blackburn Corporation Council Minutes, 20 February 1896.
33. 9 May 1896.
34. J.C., 11 November 1898.
35. J.C., 8 December 1899.
36. Blackburn Weekly Standard and Express, 23 April 1899.
37. Ibid.
38. J.C., 28 April 1899.
39. The location of this congregation is uncertain. Mr. D. Marcus suggested it
could have been in Simmons Street.
40. J.C., 7 July 1899.
41. J.C., 27 July 1900.
42. J.C., 10 August 1900, 16 November 1900.
43. J.C., 4 November 1904.
44. J.C., 27 September 1901.
45. J.C., 29 July 1904.
46. J. Jacobs, E. Demby and W. Richmond, J.C., 4 November 1904. For the
committee membership of the two congregations,
see J.C., 22 April 1904, 4 November 1904.
47. J.C., 25 November 1904. It is not clear if this congregation had its
own cheder.
48. J.C., 25 October 1907.
49. J.C., 29 June 1906. N. Jacobson was in the chair.
50. J.C., 2 June 1898, 6 January 1905.
51. J.C., 2 June 1893.
52. J.C., 22 May 1903
53. Ibid.
54. J.C., 4 July 1902, 25 September 1903.
55. J.C., 1 March 1903. See Newman's comments on I. Wassilewski. 'The
Hebrew Teacher', J.C., 19 February 1904.
56. Blackburn Weekly Telegraph, 21 December 1901.
57. Blackburn Weekly Telegraph, 28 December 1901.
58. Blackburn Daily Star, 16 January 1903.
59. Blackburn Daily Star, 21 January 1903
60. Ibid. Another letter, signed 'One who is proud of being a Jew' was
published on l9 January 1903. Amongst the points made
was that Jews formed a disproportionate number of those who
fought in the Boer War, and that his son was still in the army.
In the Jewish Year Book 1900, a private Jacobson is
listed serving in the East Lanes regiment. It is possible that the writer was M.
Jacobson.
61. J.C., 6 January 1905.
62. Ibid.
63. Jewish Year Book 1900, 1901. J.C., 17 My 1901, 14 July 1901. Mr. C.
Rozenson and Mr. I. Aaron wore prominent in the
Society for the Study of Rabbinical Literature. The Rev. A.
Newman was reader and expounder.
64. J.C., 23 January 1903.
65. J.C., 1 September 1905.
66. Blackburn Weekly Telegraph, 15 January 1907.
67. J.C., 1 March 1907.
68. J.C., 9 August 1907.
69. J.C., 11 November 1902.
70. J.C., 22 February 1907. Many of the people interviewed mentioned the
annual dance.
71. Seabrooke, op. cit., pp. 205-6, 222. J.C., 13 H arch 1903.
72. J.C., 9 December 1898. Rev. A. Newman declared his support.
73. J.C., 7 July 1399.
74. J.C., 9 August 1899, 24 November 1899.
75. J.C., 9 August 1899. In 1900 the delegate was J. I. Loewy of
Southport. J.C., 3 August 1900.
76. J.C.,13 May 190-4,16 May 1905. 77. J.C., 8 November 1901.
78. I am indebted to Mr. H. Newman and Mr. I. Cohen for this information.
79. I am indebted to Mr. B. Gordon for this information.
80. J.C., 20 May 1898, 9 December 1893.
81. J.C., 1 March 1903.
82. I am indebted to Mr. L. Aaron for this information.
83. Blackburn Hebrew Congregation Marriage Certificates.
84. Blackburn Weekly Times, 20 May 1899. Blackburn Weekly Star, 7
December 1901. Another movement equally
anathematic to the community would be the National Secular
Society. In 1899 it sent a speaker to Blackburn named
Mr. C. Cohen! Blackburn Weekly Times, 21 January
1899.
85. Cmd. 1741 7903) Q. 16, 776.
86. I am indebted to Mr. H. Newman for pointing this out.
87. I am indebted to Mr. E. David for allowing me to consult the Marriage
Certificates.
88. I am indebted to Mr. L. Aaron and Mr. D. Marcus for this information.
89. I. M. Shane, J.C., 16 May 1902.

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